January 25, 2012

And so, MASN and Nats reporter Debbi Taylor have parted ways, as reported by Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. A person who knows stuff and is right most of the time told us that MASN is eliminating the "reporter" position entirely...but only for Nationals broadcasts?

Okay, now that we need to come to grips with living in a world without Prince Fielder thanks to that irrational, completely batshit crazy bid by Mike Illitch, might as well get excited about the Gio Gonzalez introductory press conference scheduled for 3:30 today at Nationals Park (better late than never). Gio was at the Caps game last night -- even got his face on the Jumbotron at Verizon Center! But the burning question is: did most Caps fans even know who Gio Gonzalez is? Photo courtesy of Amanda Comak.

For as long as he can remember, Chad Cordero would wake up on a late January morning like this and start thinking about throwing a baseball. But the winter of 2012 has been like nothing Chad Cordero has ever experienced in his life. “Very weird” is how Cordero described it in a phone call on Monday. “This time of year I’d be thinking about getting ready for Spring Training, throwing bullpens, playing catch, trying to get in shape. It’s very different.”

Instead, the greatest closer in the (albeit brief) history of the Washington Nationals is enjoying life at home in California with his family and coaching high school baseball. And that’s exactly where he wants to be at the moment. Words can’t properly do justice to describe the hell Cordero has been through over the past year; he retired from professional baseball in June after attempting another comeback from shoulder surgery (don’t underestimate the impact of those 224 appearances with the Nationals from 2005-2008), mere months after the tragic loss of his infant daughter Tehya to SIDS. On his decision to retire last June, Cordero explains: “I needed time to clear my head after everything that happened with my daughter. I needed to step back and reassess. Once I found out my wife was pregnant again, I wanted to be there with her, with my family. I didn’t want to miss a day. I didn’t want to miss a minute.”

And who could blame him? Cordero and his wife Jamie welcomed a son, Cooper, into the world on January 3.

To Washington DC baseball fans, the man known best as “The Chief” remains one of the most beloved of the original 2005 Nats; and he’ll be returning to the Washington DC area this summer, participating in Bethesda Big Train’s Celebrity Baseball camp from July 16to July 20 at Cabin John Park in Bethesda, Maryland. More information about the camp is available on the Big Train website.

We had a chance to speak with Cordero by phone on Monday about his involvement in the camp, and what he’s been doing these days.

We're hearing from someone who knows stuff and is usually right that the sides might be inching closer. It helps that Boras seems to have readjusted his definition of long term much lower-- from 10 to 7 years. And when the Nats keep saying publicly "nothing has changed", that's mostly true: we hear Ted Lerner is still holding firm at 5 years. A person who knows stuff and is usually right told us that if Lerner agrees to a straight 7 year contract it's a done deal...and that Lerner *might* consider going beyond 5 years if there are vesting options to add the additional years to protect Nats' interests. Don't know what this means for opt-out clauses that have been bandied about previously. Time seems to be of the essence, though.

And now would seem to be about the time for a mystery team to swoop in, right?

January 21, 2012

Oh, here's something! How about: Air Screech "performing" at halftime of last Monday's Wizards game? Air Screech and the Wizards are bad enough taken alone. In combination? Insufferable. Worse than puzzling over the latest dribs and drabs of Prince Fielder news? No. Not even close.

Speaking of the Opening Day 2012 starting right fielder for the Washington Nationals, the website BryceHarperFacts.com would like you to know that they're running a contest of some kind, and giving something away. Go here for the details.